Constantine

C.D. San Roque de Lepe January & February 2024 Transfers Pedro was bothering me for a new contract, despite us being deeply in red. He wouldn't shut up about it so on the transfer list he goes. And we've got some money for him, nice. Drop in an ocean but it helped tiny bit. Oriol is a straight replacement for Ingles. And we aren't paying no fee, which is the best part. Segunda División RFEF - Grupo IV Flawless. We've clicked together after (SPOILERS!) we got eliminated from the Copa del Rey. Llario just kept scoring and we just kept winning. Sure, we had some luck and refereeing decisions coming our way but that doesn't take away from our success. Now, the question is, can we keep at it? Can we stay at the top? Sevilla and Betis are relentless. Copa del Rey We haven't went down without a fight but they were just too strong for us. Better luck next season...

C.D. San Roque de Lepe November & December 2023 Segunda División RFEF - Grupo IV We've hit a roadblocks... Rather, few of them. Three consecutive defeats after record unbeaten run have shaken me a bit but the boys pulled us back onto the tracks. Hopefully we'll improve a bit more going forward. Also, I've seen that I forgot to mention two players in the last update. Antonio and Ousmane Kokoe Paye. Both of them are academy graduates, only ones I signed and it is a decision influenced more by our financial troubles but they're promoted to the first team and both actually played some minutes here and there. Copa del Rey Started out with a win. And it will most likely be where our journey ends, since we've drawn a Primera league side, Real Zaragoza. Out of a billion other clubs. Just unlucky, I guess...

C.D. San Roque de Lepe September & October 2023 Transfers God, I forgot how late the season starts in Spain... Done our business early as usual and then just sat on my hands till late August. Anyhow... I wanted to keep the guy but I can't really blame him for leaving. He went back home, for 5 times the salary. All fine in my book. Also, four more players left after their contracts expired. Sergio Garcia and Marrufo were only ones that featured heavily in our starting lineup. Neither was willing to sign an extension. Because of a late league reset in Spain, we have a two screens for incoming players. Eight players In. Had to replace those four who run their contracts down plus few of those who were here on loan. Brais Val is former Deportivo player whom I developed into decent Primera backup few years back when I managed them. Not sure what his potential is now but if he turned out half as good as he was back then, I'll be happy. Asier Grande is signed from Basconia, Athletic Bilbao affiliate and will provide some competition for Paco Torres at the right back. Carles Llario is legitimately one of my favorite players I've never seen play in RL. I've brought this former Real Madrid academy graduate everywhere I've managed in last two editions of the game and he always delivers. Charlie Pérez, a Valencia Mestalla mainstay, signed as a backup for Maidana but he's looking really, really good and I could see him displacing Santiago in a year or two. Javi López. We're paying, like, 500 euros a month for this guy. Great value for money, I'd say... Baba is second right winger Real Madrid academy dropout we've signed this season. He'll share minutes with Jacobo but considering the latter's injury history, Baba could easily end up with more games played this year. Florentino Sánchez came in as a fourth CD in the pecking order but Camacho and Antonio Lopez kept getting those silly, little short term injuries so Florentino played nearly half the games so far. Ángel Troncho's here to cover for Pablo Haro. Could've got him for free but I've upped his salary so I could lower his squad status. Measly price to pay not to have his manager bother me every two games... Our team's much stronger than it was this time last year. Media predicted us to finish mid table (at 10th) but IMO, we're better than that. Finances still suck, though. Went little over our wage budget but not that much. We're bleeding money. If the board don't step in, I'll have to sell someone in January. Segunda División RFEF - Grupo IV Luckily, our off the pitch troubles don't seem to translate over on the pitch. We're doing great so far, following Betis' affiliate in their step. Could we have done better? Surely but I really don't have any ground to complain. The boys are looking great so far. Llario almost scored as many goals in 9 games as our top scorer did for an entirety of the last years. God, I love him. To wrap this up...

C.D. San Roque de Lepe May 2023 Segunda División RFEF - Grupo IV No play offs for us but I'm happy. We showed bit of a character, going down in both of these games (it was 0-3 for Utrera at one point) but we fought back and got points from the clutches of defeat. Side note, petty one, but I'm glad Xerez and Mancha Real went down as they were one of the clubs that deemed me not good enough to manage them. Who's laughing now?! On a more serious note, I'm delighted. Couldn't wished for a better start to my career. Got to stay in the league, comfortably, nearly got in the play offs, had some amazing games... Now we can get on with contract negotiations. Maidana, Camacho and Charaf are priorities but honestly, I'd resign most of the lads as I'm not a fan of massive overhauls all at once. Used to do that pretty regularly but that changed in the last couple of editions... Finances are still a worry though, not as bad as it was but it isn't looking great either. Board expectations for the next seasons are midtable, which is very doable but if we keep the band together, I'd say we maybe could make a cheeky promotion push. Still, way too early to think about that. Let see first how will negotiations pan out...

C.D. San Roque de Lepe March & April 2023 Segunda División RFEF - Grupo IV We're safe!! Though we weren't in that much danger, considering our great runs, it is still nice to have that in writing. Still in the game for play offs but... We won't talk about it till and if we get in there. Two more games to go and we'll be facing UCAM Murcia and Utrera. Got a new contract for myself so that means I'll be staying here for at least one more season. Sadly, same can't be said for a number of my players, usually the ones I want to keep but... Let's ride this season out and see what we can do.

C.D. San Roque de Lepe January & February 2023 Transfers Five players out, as we attempt to trim our wage budget. Brian was an outlier, he signed for Arosa on Bosman but I offered him out to get his wages off the books right now, since we're well covered in the front line. Also, our backup goalie went to Sevilla!! No idea what the hell happened there... Two players in. Llamazares is a backup goalie we've got on loan for nothing and Victor Olmo is our new starting left back. He's ridiculously good for this level, wouldn't sign on without a clause so here's hoping no one touch him in near future. Segunda División RFEF - Grupo IV Flew up the table! Lots of luck brought us here (we were badly battered v Cadiz B, I even left for coffee, like, five minutes before 90th min so imagine my surprise when I saw final score; away at Xerez, took the lead early, dropped the ball almost instantly and showed nothing till half time only to mount a massive comeback from a genuinely dodgy penalty) but shout out to the boys, they were spectacular. I don't think we can keep it up but as long as we're above that red line, I'm happy.

After a number of failed interviews (seriously, it was like a dozen of them, I haven't been rejected this much since high school), finally, one club decided to take a gamble on me. We're going to Andalusia. Our journey starts at C.D. San Roque de Lepe. Profile :: General :: Facilities :: Finances Not much I could find online about them that isn't in Spanish. They've been in 4th tier since 2016 and, currently, Aurinegros are having some trouble remaining in there. That's where I come in. One point away from safety after 17 games, with that many to go. Far, far from hopeless. Got a decent sized squad at my hands. Couple of standout players. And we're professional! That surprised me, I kinda expected most of the clubs at this level to be semi pro. And few of them are but about 80% of clubs, in our division at least, are all pros. Anyhow, just to give you a sense with what we're working with, here's my first impression, surface level pick of our best players. Really well rounded defender and, for this level, not many flaws in him... We're well stacked in midfield and pretty much everyone is about same-ish, skills wise. Marrufo's just my personal favorite among them. Same can be said about our attack. A lot of similar looking players. David is maybe the best among them but he's out of practice, currently recovering from hip injury. His return is imminent but we're not in a hurry to rush him back. Considering our financial situation, I seriously doubt we're dipping into market at this moment. Unless we unload someone, I can't see us getting anyone new in. As for upcoming schedule... Well, not great, not terrible. Sevilla Atletico, Cadiz B and Velez. Velez at home is a must win game but the rest will be tough. I think that's about it for now. Cheers.

A normal game for a change of pace, since I've played Youth Academy saves for quite some time now. Starting unemployed, no badges, working my way up.

Season 1 (2024/25) We were in play out places going into last round and we should've ended up there with Alessandria but thanks to rules in Italy, in which I'm not getting into since there's many of them, both of us survived in no man's land. In play out, Carpi got beaten by Arezzo, side that had 4 wins all year and got relegated. Feels bad man... Bogus in Cup but... Who cares at this point. Transfers Pre-arranged, nothing I could do. No outings, as we had like 15 players in club, in total. Youth Intake All elite talents signed and that's about it. Numbers to fill out the bench. It's a shame our most gifted are Italians but hopefully we'll get our San Marino eugenics program going couple of years down the line. Top Talents We needed a proper, right footed right back and we've got him. Nice physicals but he sucks in defense and offers basically nothing going forward so... Yeah, he'll start. Our 34 years old backup striker is retiring so Luca's going to get some minutes off the bench. We're well stacked in middle of the park but we're committed to developing Sammarinese talent. Side note, I just love his mental high aggression with such low decisions. I'm sure it won't bring us any problem on the pitch whatsoever. Top Players Our top scorer, 24 goals in 37 appearances. Top of the assists chart with *check notes* a whole 9 assists. Arguably our best midfielder and most important player. It just sucks that he wants to leave and play with better players. We have him for next season and one-year contract extension but I hope he changes his mind and sign with us a long term deal. That's about it for now. Cheers.

It worked for me too. Thanks. And of course, one nitpick, I have to do this every time I launch the game or flickering returns. For some reason.

No, I don't like it, I'm one of those stubborn ones who love playing with caps 😄

I've been having flickering screen issues during games ever since 23.2.1. patch. My monitor is stuck at 60Hz for some reason, can't lower it further. Latest drivers installed, all game files verified yet the issue still occurs. I can play it on commentary only but it's annoying once I switch to 2D.

Since ludak finished this challenge with OFK Beograd first, I've decided to wrap up my own take on Romanticari (1 league title, 0 cups, nothing to write home about as far as European competitions are concerned in seven seasons) and start a game I wanted for a long while. Took me a whole day of simulating, a whole bloody day to get them promoted two levels up but... Here we go. I guess this could count as San Marino challenge, albeit I won't be touching NT before finishing up this one first. That is, if I survive past season 1. Our squad is dire. Dire! Eccellenza level players in Serie C, because AI suck at transfers. Though they did sign us two strikers, two deals I can't cancel. Facilities... As good as I expected. Let's see how long this lasts...

Dusan Tadic

That, too. I was genuinely sad this time around when 10AM games stopped. I was enjoying it massively. Putting the game on, watching them with my pet rabbit while I pretended to do some work. It was lovely.

I don't know about that, Oche... I thought it was weird at first too (and a logistical nightmare to deal with) but I don't think I'd mind another winter World Cup. I don't know whether I'm imagining things or not, but there's something about having fresher players, at their best, contrary to getting them at season's end, when they're physically and emotionally exhausted. Might be a recency bias but I don't think we're having as many exciting matches and comebacks in the summer.

Third/fourth place play off Saturday 17th December Croatia v Morocco 15.00 1-0 The Final Sunday 18th December Argentina v France 15.00 1-2 The total number of goals scored 4 The number of goals scored in the first half 2 The number of goals scored in the second half 2 The number of goals scored after 90 minutes 0 The number of hattricks 0 Will the game go to extra time No Will the game go to penalties No The total number of penalties scored 1 The team which scores the fastest goal France The team which scores the last goal France The time of the first goal 11 The time of the last goal 73 The scorer of the first goal Mbappe The scorer of the last goal Giroud The total number of yellow cards 5 The total number of red cards 0 The total number of substitutions across all games 5 ****Super, Hyper, Mega bonus*** Predict the exact score, whether the game will go to 90 or 120 minutes, the exact times of goal(s) and the goalscorer(s) Mbappe (0-1 France, 11'), Alvarez (1-1 Argentina 34'), Giroud (1-2 France 73'), France win in 90mins.

I don't know, this French side, I have a feeling they're playing just as much as they need to get the job done. Nothing more, nothing less.

Lloris' looking strangely competent these last two games...

Post to your heart's content, as long as you're not spamming. IMO, when I watched it live, I didn't think it was a penalty. But I also can't disagree with the fact that it was given. It could be called, it didn't have to. I've seen similar situations and it was often a tip of a coin. Depends on the referee.

Proper sports/fan's washing, that...

We're discussing that penalty way too much. IMO, it was 50/50 decision and Orsato went with what he thought was right. Despite him being who he is, the fact we're still discussing it without "proper" conclusion show how close of a call that was.

OFK Beograd Season 2 done and dusted. Being the worst defense of the league aside, I've really happy with our season back in the Super liga. We've survived rather comfortably, which allowed me to play the kids bit more in last third of the season, giving them much valuable experience. We were thumped hard quite few times, two 5-0, two 6-0 v Partizan and TSC... Just you wait, we'll pay you back with vengeance. In 10 or so years. In the Cup, some progress was made. We've actually made it all the way to First Round!! Baby steps... Our two finest prospect sold. Sreckovic went to Vojvodina after I protested the transfer with the board and renegotiated it after Partizan unsettled him. But that was one time board allowed me to interfere, the bastards went over my head and let our finest fullback to Crvena zvezda for peanuts. Now, don't get me wrong, I fared much better than my pals did, one of them got paid something like 200 euros and percentages. Still sucks. I don't mind Ciric one. He's a decent enough but we're well covered in the final third. At least we used that money to upgrade Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment, both of which at the time of writing are at Exceptional level. Intake was alright. Another goalie prospect. More strikers and most importantly, more central defenders. Got the numbers now at least... I love the looks of Milovac. Bjelobrk might be useful in supporting role. Prsic in there to round up top three. Big-ish squad. Some trimming might be done. Also I'm considering dropping our fullbacks turned central defenders (Aleksandar Tasic and Nikola Jovanovic) and just playing the kids. Let them develop in hell's fires. Sink or swim. We're conceding six goals in a game either way. Though their poor personalities worry me a bit... I think that's about it. Let's continue this exercise in futility...

And that's even without Mbappe in the conversation. Too early to tell, but he could break pretty much every record known to man...

Tuesday 13th December Argentina v Croatia 1-1 (1-3 pens) Wednesday 14th December France v Morocco 2-0 *** Bonuses The total number of goals across all the games - 4 The total number of goals scored in the first half - 2 The total number of goals scored in the second half - 2 The total number of goals scored after 90 minutes - 0 The total number of hattricks - 0 The number of games going to extra time - 1 The number of games going to penalties - 1 The total number of penalties scored (including those in normal game play) - 6 The team which scores the fastest goal - France The team which scores the last goal - France The time of the first goal - 36th minute The time of the last goal - 54th minute The scorer of the first goal - Giroud The scorer of the last goal - Mbappe The total number of yellow cards - 9 The total number of red cards - 1 The total number of substitutions across all games - 7